Leslie – Cannonball Read 17

A Classic and a (Maybe?) New Classic

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

December 29, 2021 by Leslie Leave a Comment

This English professor finally got around to reading Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott’s classic book of advice about writing. In all honesty, when I read for fun I gravitate toward genre fiction–mysteries, detective novels, romance, etc. I like a good story. I was surprised, then, by how much I enjoyed just luxuriating in Lamott’s prose. It is by turns hilarious, touching, and, most importantly, honest. For example, she includes an entire chapter about professional jealousy that I at first found odd until I found myself relating […]

Like Everyone Else, I Read Dune

Dune by Frank Herbert

December 2, 2021 by Leslie 1 Comment

Dune is the type of book that I appreciate more than I enjoy. I am glad I read it, certainly, and in many ways it exceeded my expectations. It is wildly inventive, and I was immersed in the interplanetary worlds Herbert creates. For a reader in 2021, Dune covers somewhat familiar ground with its narrative of a “chosen one” who undergoes training in order to take up leadership in a fight larger than he (or she) imagined. With a book this influential, it was difficult for […]

Books for Spooky Season

The Last Book on the Left by Marcus Parks, et al

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

December 1, 2021 by Leslie 4 Comments

As a fan of Last Podcast on the Left, I both looked forward to reading the book by “The Boys” (Marcus Parks, Ben Kissel, and Henry Zebrowski) and also wondered how they would pull it off. The podcast is irreverent and explicit, with Parks (usually) providing the research and central narrative of a particular topic, while Ben and Henry offer asides and impressions. The good (?) news is that The Last Book on the Left essentially replicates that structure. Each chapter provides information on a serial killer (ten […]

Two Hits and a Miss

Designs on a Duke by Ellie St. Clair

A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

Fatal Affair by Marie Force

December 1, 2021 by Leslie Leave a Comment

You have to hand it to Sarah MacLean. While she takes romance seriously, her books are fun. The banter is good, the scenarios are imaginative, and the characters are self-aware. I had this realization early in A Rogue By Any Other Name, when, as part of his attempt to kidnap and marry our heroine, the titular rogue spanks her, a move that is equal parts sexy and comical. MacLean is especially good at writing conventional aristocratic women who find themselves plunged into a London underworld, which is the case […]

More J.D. Robb

Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb

Glory in Death by J.D. Robb

October 27, 2021 by Leslie 1 Comment

These two whodunnits follow the comforting pattern of police procedurals, with the added twist of futuristic elements and the engaging romance of protagonist Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her lover, the wealthy, connected Roarke. It’s easy to see why there are 55 books in the “In Death” series (although I personally am going to take a hiatus after overdosing on this series in the last month). In Glory in Death, Dallas investigates the murder of the prominent Prosecuting Attorney, Cicely Powers, whom she knows personally (and who, […]

Conventional and Less Conventional

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

September 27, 2021 by Leslie Leave a Comment

I’m terrible at titles, but I did want to highlight what I saw as the main difference between these two romance novels (both of which I enjoyed). Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore is a pretty standard historical romance, set in late Victorian England (rather than the usual Regency period). The time period is important, as politics are central to Dunmore’s plot. Her heroine, Annabelle Archer, has seized the opportunity to escape domestic drudgery and enroll in Oxford, were she involves herself in the suffrage movement. […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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